The NBA continues to stand out among sports properties as a forward-thinking social brand, and NBA players are some of the most active and followed athletes. The league recently surpassed 400 million likes and followers combined across all league, team and player pages on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Sina and Tencent, and was the first sports league to surpass one billion video views on YouTube.
On Wednesday, June 12, the NBA will capitalize on this success by airing on NBA TV the second annual NBA Social Media Awards presented by SAP.
Chris Webber will host the show, which will recognize the plays and moments from this past season that resonated most with fans across social. Awards will be divided according to platform – Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube – and will also include some more creative categories, including:
– #Trendsetter Award – for the player that displayed the best sense of style via social media
– The 140 Award – for the player with the most impressive tweet of the year
– The OMG Award – for the team with the best video shared via social
– The Social Rook of the Year Award – for the rookie with the biggest increase in popularity across social media platforms.
Fans can vote through May 31 by visiting nba.com/sma or by tweeting with hashtag #NBASMA. The Social Slam Award, recognizing the best dunk during the regular season, will remain open via Twitter until the telecast, with the winner being announced live.
Based on the immediate and next-day reaction by fans to the following DeAndre Jordan dunk, there is a clear-cut favorite for The Social Slam Award this year. The NBA was also recently nominated for a Shorty Industry Award for Sports (the ceremony and platform I produce).